Part of responsible pet ownership is knowing how you can save a cat or a dog’s life in the event of an emergency. One aspect of this is understanding CPR for dogs and cats. If your pet is hit by a car or for myriad of reasons becomes unconscious, he or she is relying on you to save his or her life.
Performing CPR for dogs or cats is not entirely unlike that for humans. The concept is the same, however the applications are slightly different and largely size and weight dependent.
The first thing you need to do is relax. A levelheaded person gets the job done efficiently. Being hysterical serves neither you nor your pet any good. However, don’t take too long, your pet’s life hangs in the balance of your ability to act swiftly. Having a second person assisting you in performing CPR is ideal but not necessary to save your pet’s life.
Assuming your dog or cat is unconscious and non-responsive, check to see whether there is anything obstructing his or her airway. This should be done with care for two reasons. Even an unconscious animal has reflex actions and can bite down. The other reason is that you don’t want to harm your pet.
Next you’re going to try and get oxygen in your pet. Doing this for a large breed dog differs from performing CPR on a small dog or a cat.
For a large breed dog:
• Close his jaw tightly
• Breath into his nose (not his mouth, as with humans)
• Give two breaths
• Repeat until you see his chest rise
For a smaller breed dog or a cat:
• If you can, place your mouth over your animal’s mouth and nose and breathe
• Give two breaths
• Repeat until see her chest rise
As with humans, it will be necessary to perform chest compressions. Performance of these is again, weight and size dependent.
For large dogs, place your dog on his back and compress his chest as you would for a human. For smaller dogs and cats, it’s very likely you will need to lay her on her side and compress the side of her rib cage. If you are able to, you can place your dog or cat on her back and press on both sides of her rib cage. It’s important to understand that the rate of chest compressions varies depending the size of your pet.
1. Dogs over 60 lbs = 60 compressions per minute
2. Dogs or cats 11 – 60 lbs = 80-120 compressions per minute
3. Dogs or cats 10 lbs or less = 120 compressions per minute
Lastly, as with humans you will need to alternate between breaths and chest compressions. The ratio is going to be same as it is for resuscitating a human, which is approximately 30:2. In other words, 30 chest compressions, then two breaths and continue this until your dog or cat is breathing on his or her own.
Now that you know how to perform CPR,you can save a cat or a dog’s life, pass it on to your friends and family.
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